Why not give Reading Prison to the community in Reading because the borough council could market it better than the Ministry of Justice?

That was a view expressed by the deputy leader of the council Councillor Tony Page yesterday when he announced the planning framework any prospective purchaser of the historic site would have to take into consideration before making a planning application.

Cllr Page said he understood the MoJ would not be marketing the site before 2015. Since the announcement the council has been working on the planning brief which is a warning to prospective buyers just how complicated redeveloping the site is going to be.

The prison itself is a Grade II-listed building, but the whole of the site it stands on is designated as a Scheduled Monument – which has the highest planning protection there is. Any work within the site needs the permission of the secretary of state for local government and communities Eric Pickles through a constant process administered by English Heritage.

And a detailed archaeological investigation and appraisal would have to be carried out before any planning application is lodged.

And what the archaeologists might find could include the remains of King Henry I because the prison is built on land once part of Reading Abbey where the king is buried.

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Cllr Page added: “We are proud of the history and heritage of Reading and it is therefore right that we do everything in our power to ensure that is conserved for future generations.

“Later this month the council intends to submit a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund for the wider preservation of the Reading Abbey.

“Alongside the publication of this planning document today it demonstrates our determination to give this historic and significant corner of Reading the protection and profile it rightly deserves.”

The draft outline development framework – which has to be approved by the policy committee on Monday, February 17 – has already been sent to English Heritage and the Ministry of Justice for comments.

The next stage is for the document to be placed online for public viewing and comment.

Cllr Page revealed at the launch of the brief yesterday that the MoJ closed the jail because of the soaring cost of maintaining the building. He said the capital receipt for the prison was likely to be “small” and suggested the MoJ should “gift the prison to the local community”.

He said there had been no expressions of interest so far but there was a local interest in developing a theatre there.

The Museum of Reading has already collected around 50 artefacts from the prison including a box which contained the executioner’s key, the sign on the door of Oscar Wilde’s cell and a modern young offender’s uniform.

Reading Prison Gate before the new wall was built (Image: Picture: Museum of Reading)